I is for Innocent
by nicol-leoraine
Summary: Guilt must be proven and Harvey is ready to drive that lesson home for Mike. Post-ep for Dog Fight.


**A/N: **Written for the alphabet_soup challenge over at LJ. Prompted and beta-read by pennythepants**.  
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**I is for Innocent**

They were just dropping off Clifford at a half-way home when the call came. Up until that moment, Mike thought that things might have finally been on the right track. Harvey has somehow managed to put the whole fiasco with Cameron behind him, somehow grudgingly forgiven Donna her help in the matter. Clifford was free, and while nothing could give him back the ten years he spent in prison, his name had been cleared. And if Harvey had anything to say about it, he would get a due compensation from the system.

Mike had also finally decided to tell Trevor the truth. He saw what lies did to people, how they ruined lives, and he didn't want that to happen. Trevor would have to deal with the fact he was dating Jenny. He would understand. That was what Mike was hoping for. But things seldom go as one would wish them to.

It had been maybe half an hour after Mike had called Trevor, only to get his voice mail, that Harvey's phone rang.

"Jessica," Harvey said when he looked at the display, and then took the call, turning away from Mike. Clifford was nervously eying the half-way house, and Mike felt a bit of sympathy for the guy. He could imagine what he was feeling. Well, not exactly, after all Mike never went to prison, never lost ten years of his life. But he saw the look in Clifford's eyes and recognized it as his own, when he looked into the mirror on his first day at work. It was fear and anticipation. Fear because everything was new and unknown. There was the possibility of failure lurking from every corner. Anticipation, because it was a chance to finally become a better person, to live the life, so to speak.

"You'll do okay," Mike said and Clifford gave him a nervous chuckle.

"Yeah, right. Because all convicts have a bright future ahead of them. No kidding."

"Well, you were innocent. Falsely imprisoned. That should give you some slack," Mike tried to lift the mood, but all he seemed to achieve was making Clifford look more grim. "Look, I know it's hard. Fresh starts are always hard and scary as hell. But sometimes, you just have to put the past behind you. There are people who know what to do, how to help you get back on your feet," Mike nodded towards the house. "You just need to trust them."

"Like you trusted Specter?" Clifford asked and Mike nodded, not even thinking about it.

"Mike? We need to go," Harvey said, and there was something in his voice that put Mike on his feet. Something was wrong.

"Clifford? I will call you once I get something on the compensation. If you need anything, you have my number, or Mike's. We'll stay in contact."

Clifford swallowed, and then gave a slight smile.

"Okay. Thanks. For... Getting me out. And clearing my name."

Harvey's jaw clenched momentarily as he thought about Cameron and the kid being innocent in the first place. "I owed it to you. Go ahead, and say hi to Evans from me. He's the one in charge there."

Clifford once again nodded, and after saying his goodbye to Mike he reluctantly went ahead. Mike didn't even wonder how Harvey knew the man heading the halfway house. There seemed to be many things he had yet to learn about the lawyer. What he did know though, was that the look on his face signaled trouble. Harvey sat behind the wheel of his car and put the keys into the ignition, but didn't turn them. Mike took his place in the passenger seat, waiting for Harvey to speak, but he was obviously lost in thought.

"What's wrong?" Mike finally asked, unable to wait any longer. Harvey sighed and looked at him.

"Looks like Jessica had a visitor. She didn't tell me who it was, but she wants to speak with us, as soon as possible. She requested you be there, Mike." Harvey said and Mike blanched, his thoughts going to all the things that could've gone wrong, but there was really only one question.

"She knows?" He asked, barely breathing. He watched Harvey's face, the instinctive tightening of the jaw, the dark look in his eyes. Still, Harvey only shrugged.

"I'm not sure. She didn't threaten to call the cops or kick us both out, but then, she's Jessica Pearson. She wouldn't."

"What would she do if she knew?"

"Get us into her office, on her territory and probably rip us a new one. It all depends on what evidence she has."

"How could she even..." _know,_ Mike wanted to ask, but one raised eyebrow from Harvey, and that look screaming 'You're an idiot, kid', was enough of an answer. "Trevor," Mike breathed out, then slammed his head against the headrest, cursing. Harvey watched him a moment, and then cleared his throat.

"I won't sink as low as to say 'I told you so', but I did," he said, and tried to ignore Mike's crushed look. With a sigh, Harvey picked up his phone and gave Donna a call. If someone could find out what was going on in Jessica's office, it was her. Ending the call with a promise of indebting Mike's services to Donna until the rest of the kids life, Harvey hung up.

"What now?" Mike asked, ignoring the fact Harvey all but promised him off for eternal slavery.

"Now we wait to see what she comes up with."

"Shouldn't we just... Go and face the music?" Mike asked, kind of defeated. Then he yelped as Harvey's palm connected with the side of his head.

"Here I thought you were learning something. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and start thinking, Mike," Harvey growled as Mike looked at him in disbelief.

"What is there to think about? If she knows, it's over. All I can think of now is that if I lie to her and tell her you knew nothing about it, maybe you won't get fired. And then you can thank me by taking me on as a pro bono case when I'm charged with Trevor's murder."

"Oh please, don't be so dramatic," Harvey said, rolling his eyes. "No one's gonna get fired. Not today. I can't promise not firing your ass if you keep on having asshole friends."

Mike frowned, but didn't comment. After all, if this was Trevor's doing, then it was really Mike's fault. He was the one who ruined everything.

Harvey watched the emotions rolling over Mike's face, anger mixing with fear and doubt. He couldn't give the kid any guarantees, but he was pretty sure they could get through this somehow. It was just another problem that needed fixing. And who better for that than Harvey Specter, the best closer in the city?

"Okay, stop it. I can't watch your hurt puppy face anymore, kid. Stop assuming the worst. This might be nothing, or it might be what you are scared of, but either way it's not the end of the world. You're smart, Mike." Hearing that, Mike didn't know if he should snort at the obvious lie or call the exorcist, because Harvey had to be possessed for him to be giving out compliments. Harvey ignored the look of disbelief on Mike's face and continued. "Whatever happens, you're not alone. Not anymore. You've seen how the world works. You have the brains and you have the heart. You have a future and me and Donna will be there to help you get to it, but you can't give up."

Mike sat there, speechless. Hearing that from Harvey was akin to a miracle. "God, I'm not dying, am I?" He asked after a moment and Harvey rolled his eyes.

"Not unless you decide to repeat one word of our conversation to another living soul." Mike was pretty sure Harvey was kidding, but just in case he wasn't, he nodded."Good. Now that you don't have to fret over facing your uncertain future alone, let's get back to the problem. What does Trevor have on you?"

"What?"

"Evidence, kid. At this point, it's all about evidence. Jessica may know the truth, she may believe it, but unless she has proof she won't do a thing. So what does Trevor have that could incriminate you?"

"I-I don't know," Mike stuttered, feeling as if he was sitting before a jury. But there was only Harvey and he was on Mike's side. "He knows me. He knows... About everything."

"You told him _everything_? Did you tell him about Lola hacking into the system and getting you your diploma? How could you be that stupid?" Harvey asked in disbelief.

"What? No! I didn't tell him about Lola, because I didn't even know her then. He doesn't know about the hacking."

Harvey seemed to relax at that, but he still looked pissed. "That's good news, at least. But why the hell did you tell him, Mike?" Harvey asked and Mike couldn't take it anymore.

"I was drunk, okay? I was fucking drunk and I had no one else to talk to, and I needed to tell _someone,_ Harvey. I've known Trevor my entire life. I didn't think he would betray me like that!" Mike snapped.

"Well, maybe Trevor didn't think you would betray him and sleep with his girlfriend either," Harvey said and watched as the anger fell off Mike and the kid practically vanished into the seat. Before he could say anything, his cell phone beeped. Harvey read the message and let out a sigh.

"Look, this is not the time to feel sorry or betrayed. Fact is, Trevor spoke to Jessica. We don't know what he told her. It could be anything, from you being kicked out of school for cheating or me being in on this. Hell, for all we know he could've told her about our scheme to save Clifford from a life sentence. We won't know until we speak to her."

"But what if he told her everything?"

"We can always tell her that Trevor made it up, because you slept with his girlfriend. Fact is, you are in the system now. Officially, you have all the credentials you need to work at Pearson and Hardman. You've proved yourself and I'll back you up all the way. Even if Jessica knows something, she still has to prove it. Remember, you're innocent until proven guilty. And I doubt she would want to prove one of her senior partners is working with a fraud. I've got your back, kid," Harvey added softly, hoping his words wouldn't make him a liar. He waited for Mike's nod and small smile and turned the key in the ignition. It was time to face the music.

**The End**


End file.
